An Apostile for document attestation is mandatory for you or not depends on your current passport and the Indian embassy that you are applying for document attestation.
If required, you have to get the document attested by your US state of secretary before visiting or sending documents for attestation to Indian Embassy.
Do I need Apostile?
You can answer these simple questions about your passport and then we can figure out if you need an Apostile or not.
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If you want to do it yourself, here are the Apostile rules:
Indian Passport Holder
Apostile is required if your answer is Yes in this table
| Indian Embassy | Postal Mail | in-person visit to Embassy |
| Washington DC | No | No |
| New York | Yes | No |
| Houston | No | No |
| Chicago | No | No |
| San Francisco | Yes | Yes |
| Atlanta | No | No |
Non-Indian Passport Holder
If you are a US citizen or any hold passport of any other country, Apostile is required if your answer is YES in this table:
| Indian Embassy | Postal Mail | in-person visit to Embassy |
| Washington DC | Yes | No |
| New York | Yes | No |
| Houston | Yes | No |
| Chicago | Yes | No |
| San Francisco | Yes | Yes |
| Atlanta | Yes | No |
Apostile simply means that you need to get the documents registered in your state (the one you are residing currently in the USA) secretary’s office.
There is a memorandum signed between Indian and US government (Hague Convention) which makes the documents ‘Apostiled’ in the USA legally valid and acceptable in Indian courts.
You have to look for this process in your specific state’s secretary’s office.
It is pretty easy and you can either walk-in or mail your documents for Apostile.
You may need to take a prior appointment in the secretary’s office if you are thinking of walking in.
Apostile is mandatory in some US states like California.
If the answer is ‘Yes’ for your case in any of the above-mentioned situations, then you need to get the Apostile for document attestation before going for Indian Embassy.
Notary is different than Apostile and attestation.
You would need Apostile for any kind of document attestation with the Indian Embassy /Consulate including marriage certificate, power of attorney, affidavit, Will, or any other.
